What's going on, Grandma Magi?
I saw it in a vision!　The face of this one!
'Grandma Magi. Does that mean that Master Nito appeared to you in a sign?
How true. I saw his face in my dream. "You were pursued by a red dragon, Sufiria, and you met this one.
Yes, that's right.
'Not so!　I've seen it happen in my dreams!

　Sufilia was puzzled.
　It was because the reason for chasing after the treasure ball was because of the magi old lady's prophecy.
　Otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to steal from the dragon.
　And moreover, she was a princess. There was no way she would have touched it.

'But Old Lady Magi. Didn't Grandma Magi say that she had indeed seen me holding the dragon's jewel in my hand?
Hmmm...
'Um, I'm sorry to be going on, but if you could, could you explain it to me? Princess.

　Masamune thought he was in his element.
　Too late, Sierra froze in a cold sweat.

'Grandma Magi is a star reader. In other words, she's a prophetess.''
"Star reader? And Masamune.
'That means I can see into the future.
"I mean, the old woman's prophecy...
'Masamune, put on your sama,' Sierra warned in a whisper. Her expression was pale.
'Excuse me. So, you mean I was in the prophecy?
How dare you!
'Grandma Magi. How about reading Nito-sama's star?" suggests Sufilia.
'Eh, you don't think you're going to see my future?' says Masamune, standing up involuntarily. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what to expect.
''Yes, but........ You don't like it?
It's not that I don't like you or anything, you know. I don't mean that I don't like it or anything, but I don't know anything about it because I'm so ignorant.
Star gazing is the ability to retrace one's steps and see the future.
'Huh...'
'Read the Lord and call upon Him. And to yet another! ... the future is connected to the future. In other words, you are reading the stars.
What the hell does that mean? I don't want to know the future.
Yes, you have changed, haven't you? Not all possible futures are good, are they?　Wouldn't you like to know the danger that would come to you?
Masamune, why don't you have her take a look at it? Toa suggests, getting down on one knee. 'You never know what's going to happen, and I'm sure it will help with the trip.
Hmmm... is that how it should be?

　For the indecisive Masamune, knowing the future would only add to his daily worries.
　I could imagine that.
　Furthermore, he wasn't keen on the idea because he disliked the harmony of the schedule.

''Well I guess so. ''I'll have a look at it if Toa says so,'' but I couldn't say no to Toa's proposal.
It's a good day to be thinking about it. Then let's go.

　Suddenly appearing in front of her, Old Lady Magi put her hand on top of Masamune's head.

'First, take a deep breath!'
I took a deep breath. And exhaled. "So, what to do next. .... hmmm?　Um.

　But there was no reply.

'....eh.

　Masamune noticed.
　The star reading had already been activated.
　Right now, Masamune wasn't in the hall, he was looking at a different scene.







　He must have been in the hall.
　In front of me was an old woman and next to her was the princess. Behind her..........

　When I turned around, there was nothing but a wall of dirt.
　No sign of the three of them.

　By the way, this seems to be a cave somewhere. I could see the entrance.
　It wasn't too dark and there was enough light from outside to get in.
　Then I realized again.
　I couldn't speak. I didn't feel like I was talking.
　I mean, my mouth was moving, but I couldn't speak. It was like I was in a dream.
　In addition, my body, legs, and neck were not pointing in the direction I wanted to move them.
　On the contrary, they sometimes moved on their own.

Were you here? I heard a voice.

　It was a slightly nostalgic, gentle voice.
　I didn't exactly feel that way myself.
　For some reason, the emotions flowed in, as if it were my own.

''Well what are you doing here?''

　The voice came on its own.
　I wasn't even trying to speak.
　He answered that while looking down.

'There is a war coming. Perhaps worse than ever...'

　The familiar voice continued.

'Why don't you ... look at me?'

　It sounded somewhat sad.
　It too drifted in, but I felt it myself before it did.

'Look at Nem!　Master!

　His voice echoed through the cave, and his face suddenly rose...............................Nem!
　A beautiful woman stands in front of the entrance.
　She has white cat ears on her head.

'.........Nem.

　You're kidding... This is Nem?　
　This beautiful woman, Nem.........
　But it was unmistakably Nem.
　But he is not the Nem I know.
　The face is Nem. But he's much more mature and grown up than he is now.

"How did you find me?
I've been looking for them. Traveled to many places.
Well Nem has a keen sense of smell.

　I'm feeling nostalgic again.

'War is Lucius.
Yes, sir. But I don't think anyone else has masterminded it.
Who are you?

　I couldn't believe my ears when Nem's words came back.

''Saeki........ It seems to be someone who calls himself that.''

　It's not the emotions that flowed in, but my own surprise.
　If this is the future, then why is Saeki still alive.....
　It's true that there's some unknowable hesitation.
　But no matter how much, it's strange to say that Nem has grown to this extent and still hasn't been able to kill him.
　You are too cowardly.

''Master, please lend me your strength. We can't hold them back on our own.''
I can't do it.
Master....
What could I possibly do? I'm just an empty shell of a cicada.
We're going to lose my sister Sierra if we don't do something about it.

　At that moment, a deep sense of despair and inexpressible sadness entered me.
　It's as if my entire field of vision darkens in an instant from under my feet.
　I was in darkness. I realized that I was in darkness.

I couldn't even save Toa, so what could I do?

　In those words, I understood the meaning of this emotion.
　This me................................I've lost Toa.

''Master this is not the time to talk about such things.
The world doesn't matter anymore. It doesn't matter anymore.

　It was a shell.
　It was the very thing he was making fun of earlier.
　There is nothing in me.

"There is no other world there has never been. There were no dreams or magic. I should have died in that dungeon. If I had died, I wouldn't have had to know that there was nothing but ashes in the sky.
If that were the case, Nem wouldn't be here right now.
"Nem. Run. Tell that to Sierra. The world is no more. There are no dreams left to be had.

　Nem's tears ran down her cheeks, and I just watched as she gulped and held on.

"I'm sorry, Nem. I'm sorry, Nem, but someone like me is the master.... I knew I should have left them at Razhuisen's then. You would have enjoyed yourself more if you hadn't been with the sisters. You wouldn't have had to bear such grief.

　Nem turned his back to me.

'I am........Nem. I'm still ... my master's Nem.

　With that, Nem disappeared.
　What a guy.
　And yet Nem is asking for help so much.
　What the hell am I doing in the future?　It's a devil's work to make Nem sad.

''You're there.......Masamune.

　All of a sudden, it was me talking to myself.

"It was here when I saw it. So, you're here, right? Masamune.

　It wasn't a soliloquy.
　This guy. "I" was. He's obviously talking to me.
　He understands that I'm watching this scene, this whole scene, and he's trying to talk to me.

It's haphazard. Isn't it, isn't it?

　"I," he said and laughed emphatically.

"All those years of longing for another world, dreaming of magic, getting everyone involved, and in the end, I couldn't protect anything.

　I knew it.
　Something about the root of this sadness emerged.

'You know..... 'Yes,' I meditated. 'Toa is dead, you know.

　The sound of the wind can be heard from outside the cave.
　It's windless and silent here.
　It's as if time and space are separated.
　It's as if I'm the only one left in the gap between the two.
　I need to get out of here.
　But I don't feel like it.

"That time, in front of me, in front of me... I still remember. I won't forget. I should have listened to the old lady's nonsense if this was going to happen.

　Suddenly he started laughing.
　I laughed with my stomach.
　It was so funny that I couldn't help it.
　It was so funny that my stomach was twisting.
　But it was a sneer. To myself.

Masamune, this is real. "Masamune, this is real," he said, "and it will happen to you in the distant future. I didn't think about it. That's why Toa died. I should have seen it coming. But it's too late now.

　I suddenly stood up and walked out of the cave.
　There was a vast plain, and in the distance I could see a mountain range.
　A strong wind was blowing.

''Masamune. Find it, that magic. It's somewhere in the Academy. You must find it. Otherwise, you will lose Toa, and everything else. And then...

　At that moment, I fired a shot of magic into the plain.
　The moment it landed in the distance, it erased the mountain range, erasing the earth and even the horizon.

"This world will be lost.

　A natural disaster.
　There was no longer anything left that could be seen.
　Everything was erased by that one shot.

'I'm going to end this world now. There will be no more wars to fight.

　-Crazy.
　This guy finally broke down completely.
　He was proud of his madness and tried to differentiate himself from others and find a talent in the name of sensitivity.
　But without an objective point of view, he can no longer be happy with his talent.
　Because this guy has nothing.

There has to be. The magic that could save the Toa...

　I unleashed a few more rounds of magic.
　Stop it! ...stop!　Stop it!
　But the voice doesn't reach him.

'Masamune. Don't be like me.

　With those words, a blinding light illuminated my vision for the last time, and my consciousness was cut off.



*



　I could see the old woman on her ass and supported by the princess.
　The throne of Artemias.
　Next to her is a worried Toa's face, and Sierra and Nem are there as well.
　Nem is also in her proper young form.

''Master, are you all right?''
...Yeah. No problem.

　His tone of voice is that of Nem.

"My lord ... who are you!　That scene....

　The old lady was intensely upset as she stared at me intently.
　Apparently, the old lady saw the same thing I did.
　In other words, she must have seen me destroy the world.

'That's a line over here. What do you mean? What in the world is a prophecy........

　The old woman stood up slowly, supported by Sufilia.

A prophecy is a prophecy. A prophecy is a prediction, a future that will come to you. A prophecy is a prediction of a future that will come to you, one that can never be avoided. As long as you don't see the fork in the road.
A fork in the road?
"Your master said. "Find the magic.

　There is a spell that could have saved the Toa.
　I was told to find it at the academy.
　It's probably the Hail Kuwaiti Higher Institute of Magic.
　There must be something there.

'What exactly did you see, Old Lady Magi?
Don't bother asking. It's a little too much for you, my dear.

　The old woman said and stared at me intently.

'You said your name was Nito,'
Yeah. ...Yes.
Or ... no. That's good. Nito, do you like this world?

　Old lady thought I was otherworldly, and I had a hunch.
　And I'm scared. And she's worried about the future of this world. She worries about me...

"...don't worry. I am a man who has always had a fascination with this world. It won't come to that. No, it won't. I won't let it happen.
I'm relieved to hear that. That's good to hear. I suppose I'll just have to take a break.

　The old woman disappeared into her room, showing no small amount of calm.

'Masamune, are you okay?'

　When my eyes met with Toa's, I remembered my future self from earlier.
　
　Come to think of it, Nem had become a beautiful woman.
　"You called me 'Sister Sierra' or something like that........

The best way to do this is to have a look at a few of the things you've been doing.
I'm sure you'll be able to find it. It's nothing.
So you can see the future? And Toa.
'Yeah. Well I saw it but I'll tell you about it another time.

　I won't be talking to three people.
　When I tell them that - that's when no small amount of bad things happen.

So, Nito-sama, as a reward for this time, I would like to present you with a reward.

　Sufilia asked as a princess.


I'm sorry, but I can't give you that.

　Sufilia added in passing, wondering if it would still be okay, although it would be taken away when she left this country.
　But there was no good reason.

'Then it's a carriage. I want to go to Heilkwaite,' he said, 'so I need a very nice carriage. I want to go to Heilkwaite, so I need a very good carriage. Of course, I'll just ride in it and I'll return it to you when I get there.
Father, may I have a word?
Mm, no problem.
Now, let's get you the best one in town.
"Your Majesty!　I'm here to report.

　Suddenly the great doors of the hall opened and a message appeared.

'Mm, you may speak.'
We have received a document from Latosfilia!

　The king's expression clouded over.